Archive for April, 2013

Today I wanted to get rid of some of the items in my refrigerator and freezer, so i decided to make a non-traditional Zucchini Bread, using Zucchini, Carrots, Chocolate Cookie Crumbs and chopped Macadamia Nuts and dried Pineapple.

Since I ended up with 4 cups of shredded fruit/Vegetable (yes, Zucchini is a fruit) I doubled my normal recipe./zuchinni-muffins/ The ingredients that I used are:

6 Eggs

2 cups Brown Sugar*

1 cup granulated Sugar

1 cup Butter

1/2 cup Vegetable Oil

1 Tbsp. Vanilla

4 cups shredded Zucchini and Carrots

5 cups Flour

1 cup finely chopped Chocolate Cookie Crumbs

2 tsps. Baking Soda

1/2 tsp. Baking Powder

2 tsps. Salt

2 tsps. ground Cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground Cloves

*I never use the total amount of Sugar and Oil that the original recipe calls for. Tastes just as good with less sugar and lasts just as long with less oil.

For a bread with more chocolate flavor you can substitute 1/2 cup flour with 1/2 cup baking Cocoa.

Be sure and grease/spray your baking pans before getting started. If you are making muffins, you can use paper liners instead of greasing the pan.

It is best to measure the flour and mix it together with the other dry ingredients before you get started. The oven should be preheating while you are making the batter.

Beat the Eggs with a paddle beater in your electric mixer or whisk by hand.

Add the Sugars and Vanilla; beat in.

While still beating, slowly add the oil and then stir in the shredded fruit/vegetables.

Stir in the Flour mixture; mix until well combined.

Finally stir in the chopped Nut/dried Pineapple mixture.

Pour into the prepared pans (half full) and bake as directed above.

The fruit used can be varied – almost any fruit will do in this recipe.

When a toothpick inserted in the middle of the breads comes out clean, they are done. However, I usually bake them about 5 minutes longer so that the tops are more brown and crispy. If you are muffin top lover, then definitely bake them just a little bit longer than necessary.

Zucchini Bread and Muffins

As an added note, this recipe produces a relatively healthy product. You have your vegies in the Zucchini and Carrots (Vitamin A here). I used Red Carrots which seem to have much more pigment than the orange ones – this means more Vitamin A as the pigment is where the Vitamins are. In the photo at the top of the page, the carrots look orange (dark orange!) but if you look closely you will see the red. Most of the red is on the outside, but the orange is much darker than on regular orange carrots, thereby probably containing more Carotene (Vitamin A source)

The recipe also contains Eggs, Macadamia Nuts and dried Pineapple. The Butter and/ or Oil are also essential products for a healthy body. Whether you think it or not, oils are essential for survival!

Try my version or create your own. This is a very flexible recipe and you can do a lot with it. By the way, I usually use Raisins (good source of Iron) but since I had the Pineapple and am trying to clean out my fridge and freezer, I used that. You can use whatever you have on hand! Enjoy!

Garlic is an absolute essential in many Cuisines. It is an aromatic vegetable which creates wonderful flavor, but can easily be over-used. Too much garlic and you will scare away your friends, not just the ‘vampires’. It is also good for your health – it helps to keep the blood pressure down, among other things.

In the photo above, you see Garlic that has been slightly pounded so that the papery skins will come right off. To separate the cloves from the head, just give it a slight whack with your pestle (if you have one) or the bottom of a heavy jar or your rolling pin. The Cloves will instantly split apart. To separate the skin from the cloves, do the same thing. Then you are free to use the Garlic whichever way you please.

You can rub it on the bottom of your salad bowl with a little salt and it will practically melt and season your salad beautifully. In fact, this is the way a true Caesar Salad is made and what would it be without that Garlic!

In the photo above, you see Garlic that has been chopped in a Mini-Mate. This is the easiest way to do it, although many Chefs just prefer to mince it by hand. The Mini-Mate method saves your hands from getting too smelly! If you are going to do a lot of Garlic, this is definitely the way to do it. The chopped Garlic can be Sauteed. Sauteed Garlic goes well with most meats and poultry and even seafood, especially shellfish.

In the photo above, you see Garlic that has been chopped with fresh herbs. Just make sure that your herbs are completely dry after you wash them. Use a clean dish towel or paper towels to dry them. Herbs do not chop well if they are wet.

Chopped Garlic, Herbs & Saffron

Add some Saffron or Paprika to your Garlic, Herb Mixture. The Saffro or Paprika becomes a browning agent and gives nice color to your food, especially those that are going to be browned or seared before cooking. In the photo above, not only has Saffron been added to the Garlic herb mixture, but Olive Oil has well. Add a little lemon juice or white wine and you have the perfect marinade for most anything!

Herbed Chicken

In the photo above, is a chicken that has been coated with the Garlic, Herb Marinade. In this photo additional Paprika has been added to the chicken. After it has marinated for a couple of hours (in the refrigerator). If you want to use it sooner, leave it out at room temperature for about half an hour. Then it can be broiled, grilled or baked.

Just remember that Garlic adds wonderful flavor to most food and of course should be used sparingly or with moderation!

It’s still National Bake Week so what are you going to bake today? I made some Raisin Spice Bars which served as our Breakfast today. /raisin-and-spice-bars/ They are yummy and full of energy. Do you like Baked Goods with Molasses and Raisins? I do and these are especially good.

Before we go any further, do you know where Molasses comes from? If not, think about the different types of Sugar we have. There is: Granulated, Brown, Dark Brown, Powdered and then Turbinado which some manufacturer’s call Raw. Bear in mind that you cannot use Raw Sugar. It is full of bugs and what not.

So how does the Brown Sugar get its color? Molasses, that is what! There are many steps in the manufacture of Sugar and Granulated is the final one in the processing of sugar cane. Molasses is a natural product in sugar. So on the way to being Granulated, Brown and Dark Brown are one of the products. So Molasses is a sweetener.

Making these breakfast gems is a simple task, especially if you use your food processor or electric mixer. Start with softened Butter and Cream it with the Sugar. Either Light Brown or Granulated Sugar can be used, depending on how much Molasses taste you want in the finished product. Next add the Egg, Molasses and Milk and blend well.

Batter made in Food Processor

Finally add the Raisins. For a moister and plumper raisin you can plump them by steeping in boiling water for 5 minutes. Be sure to drain well after plumping.

Turn the mixture into a greased pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, depending on the oven. When a toothpick inserted near the middle comes out dry, then your Spice Bars are done. Cool on a wire rack. When completely cool, cut into bars.

For Day Two of ‘National Bake Week’ we are going to talk about cookies. Again, this is the format I use when I do my Teen Baking Camps during the summers. Day two is always about cookies. Day one was bread and that is probably what everyone thinks is the hardest to do. So when you do what you think is the hardest, then everything else seems easy and nothing is easier than making cookies.

What is America’s favorite Cookie? Chocolate Chip of course! Chocolate Chip Cookies are probably the most versatile of all cookies to make. First of all, there are many varities of Chips. There are Bitter Sweet, Semi-Sweet, ( my husband’s favorite) Milk Chocolate (my favorite) and White Chocolate. There are also Peanut Butter Chips and Butterscotch Chips which I use those in Chocolate Based Cookies.

Choc. P-Nut Butter Chip Cookies

Then you can use M & M’s, Reese’s Pieces and my all-time favorite – ‘Milky Ways’ cut up into small pieces. I love the milk chocolate and caramel in those cookies.

Milky Way Cookies before Baking

The best ingredients to use for cookies is Unsalted Butter (even if the recipe calls for shortening), fresh Eggs, Cake Flour (for softer cookies) and pure Vanilla. I use Vanilla Bean Paste which has a more intense flavor than extract and gives the added exotic look of those little black specks of Vanilla Bean.

For drop cookies, which Chocolate Chip are, it is best to have the Butter and Eggs at room temperature. You want to cream the Butter until it is soft and fluffy along with the Sugar. Once these ingredients have been well incorporated, then you can add the flavoring, flour, salt and leavening agent. For Chocolate Chip Cookies the leavening agent is usually baking soda. Sugar cookies usually call for Baking Powder. In case you are wondering what the difference is between Baking Soda and Baking Powder here it is:

Baking Soda is Bicarbonate of Soda – NHCO3

Baking Powder is Baking Soda combined with an Acid such as Cream of Tartar and a starch filler.

If you run out of Baking Powder you can make your own, that is if you have Baking Soda on hand:

Once your Dough is made drop it by the teaspoon onto greased or parchment lined baking pans. I prefer to use a #60 food scoop. By using the food scoop it takes only one hand to shape the cookies. If you use a teaspoon you have to use a second teaspoon to push the dough off the first spoon. If you prefer larger cookies, use a soup spoon or a #20 food scoop.

Bake you cookies in a 375 degree oven or 350 degree convection oven. For 2 cookie sheets adjust the oven racks to positions #2 and 4. Bake for 12-15 minutes, depending on how crispy you want your cookies.

Remove the baked from the oven (be sure to use pot holders) and place on cooling racks. If you use parchemtn use can just slide the parchment with the cookies onto the cooling racks. If the cookies are baked directly on the pan, allow them to cool for 5 minutes or so before trying to remove from the pan. Always use a spatula to remove the cookies from the baking pans.

For those people who have gluten allergies, try making Meringue Cookies. These are cookies made for Egg Whites and Sugar and flavorng. The Egg Whites are beaten along with the Sugar until they are stiff and then shaped on the pan the same way as the Chocolate Chip. For more decorative cookies, they can be extruded through a pastry bag using a large star tip. For Macaroons, Macaroon Coconut or ground Almonds can be added to the Beaten Egg Whites.

The first week in April is ‘National Bake Week’. What a wonderful week to proclaim as most ofus know that there is nothing as welcoming as the aroma of fresh baking permeating the air. There are cookies and pies and pastries; chocolate and vanilla and almond and Cinnamon. All the flavors and essences that go into fresh baked products.

My blogs this week will pay homage to ‘National Bake Week and I will start out today as I start my Teen Baking Camps during the summer. And that is with the baking of bread. If you can bake a loaf of bread, then you can most likely bake anything. Some people will think that starting with bread may be too difficult, but it really isn’t. I am talking about yeast breads, not the quick variety of bread that is made with baking powder or baking soda and is not sturdy enough to toast or make a sandwich out of.

The nice thing about yeast breads is that it is very difficult to over mix as it is with chemical leavening agents. Basic Yeast breads contain flour which contains gluten which is what forms the walls of your bread. In addition, there is of course yeast, sugar or another sweetener to feed the yeast (yeast is a live organism which needs food and warm liquid to multiply) and a liquid, usually water. These are the basic ingredients. From just these four ingredients you can make flat bread (pizza dough), French Bread or Sourdough Bread. Add Butter or Oil and your bread becomes softer and longer lasting. Add Eggs and you have Egg Bread which is even softer and is great for French Toast, Cinnamon Rolls or Danish.

The type of flour that you use for you bread depends on how you want your bread to turn out. You can use All-Purpose Flour which as its name implies can be used for most anything. Whole Wheat Flour can be used to substitute for part of the White Flour. If you want your Bread to have a good structure use Bread Flour which has more Gluten than All-Purpose Flour. If you do use Bread Flour you will probably want to make your bread in your Standing Mixer or Food Processor as Bread Flour is harder to knead by hand. Corn Flour can be used for part of the Bread or All-Purpose Flour as well as Rye which is used of course to make Rye Bread.

The sweeteners that are used for bread are sugar, honey, molasses (wheat bread), or malt powder. Even though there is some sugar in flour (maltose) most bread recipes call for a sweetener in a small amount, usually not more than 1 Tablespoon unless of course, you are making a sweet bread.

The liquids that are used for bread can be water, juice, milk (I prefer to use Instant Dry Milk as the enzymes in fresh milk, unless scalded will inhibit the yeast from developing).

If you want a whole list of Yeast Breads we could probably fill up the whole page, but from here on in, I am going to describe the bread that I decided to start ‘National Bake Week’ with.

I am a lover of Olives and I had a jar of pitted Kalamata Olives (Greek Olives) in my refrigerator, so I decided to make a loaf of Olive Bread. I wanted my bread to have an Italian or Mediterranean flavor appeal as I was going to serve it with a homemade pasta dinner. Having just made the pasta and used some semolina flour along with my All-Purpose Flour, I decided that the Bread would also have some Semolina in it.

I roughly chopped the Olives in my Food Processor with the Metal Chopping Blade and then switched to the Dough Blade. (Actually, for this type of bread, it would have been better to use my Kitchen Aid as the Olives do tend to change the texture of the bread.) To the chopped Olives I added about a cup of Semolina and 2 -3 cups of Bread Flour – I don’t measure. When making bread you don’t necessarily go by measurements, but by feel. You want the texture of the bread dough to be soft but not dry and not wet. For this reason, it is best for new bread makers to knead their dough by hand until they become accustomed to how the dough should look and feel.

However, since I made my dough in the Food Processor I will describe the method I used for it. To the Olives and Flour I added 2 teaspoons of Salt and 1 Tablespoon of Yeast and 1 Tablespoon of Sugar. I put the top on and took off the small feed tube. While the machine was running, I slowly added the water along with 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil. Once enough water had been added, I allowed the Dough to knead for one minute. If you are doing this in your Kitchen-Aid or other standing mixer, you must knead for at least 7 minutes. If you are kneading by hand, then you must knead for at least 10 minutes.

Once the knead had reached the consistency and texture that I wanted, I removed it from the Food Processor Bowl and put it in a greased bowl and then covered it with plastic wrap. Since I had decided at a late hour to make the Dough and wanted it to be ready for dinner I had to do a fast rise. This is how I did it.

While I was making the Dough I heated my oven to 200 degrees and then shut it off and left the door open for about 10 minutes. This allowed just enough warmth to help the dough rise without cooking it. If the yeast gets too hot, it will die and not be able to grow and release carbon dioxide to make your bread rise. I placed the covered bowl with the dough in it in the oven for about half an hour or until the dough had doubled in bulk.

Risen Dough for Olive Bread

Then I punched down the dough, flattened and shaped it into a long loaf. To form the loaf, I flattened the dough into a rectangle about 10 x 8 and then folded over ¼ on the long side and flattened it down.

Flattened Dough

One fourth of the long edge folded in and flattened

I then folded over the same amount on the other side and did the same thing.

Double Fold

Quadruple Fold – Forming the Loaf

Next I folded the whole thing in half and flattened it again being sure to seal the opened edges. I then returned it to the oven and let it rise again until doubled in bulk. Fortunately, I have a double oven, so the raising was done in the top oven. While the dough was rising, I heated my pizza stone in the bottom oven at 500 degrees. When the stone was heated and the bread had risen sufficiently, I turned the oven down to 375 degrees and baked my bread. It took about 45 minutes to bake completely. If you are using a pizza stone be sure to sprinkle some cornmeal on it and on the peel from which you will slide your loaf onto the stone.

When the bread is done, it will sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Next take it out and place it on a wire rack to cool. Once the bread has cooled sufficiently so that you can touch it without burning yourself, you can then slice it and serve it. To slice a warm loaf of bread, heat your bread knife under hot running water and then dry it with a clean towel. This will make it easier to slice.

A bread knife is always a serrated knife as the best way to cut bread is to use a sawing motion. If you use a straight edge knife you will have to press down and that will squash the bread.

For large slices, cut your bread at an angle. For smaller slices cut t straight across.

One last thought on bread making. If it seems too hard to you, just try before you negate the process. One of the wonderful things about bread making is that it helps to get rid of the frustrations of a hard working day. It lets you get rid of the stress in a constructive manner. When you are done making bread, you feel less bodilyand mental tension and you end up with a delicious loaf of bread that can be used for breakfast as toast, or lunch as a sandwich or with an Olive Oil Dip for dinner. Try it at least once and you will definitely be hooked forever!